After dancing to the funky beat for
a minute or two,
Serena blew Larry a kiss and sent him down to the
dance floor with the rest of the crowd. It was time
for the debut of her fabulous new number, and as much
as she liked Larry, he was a little too "mortal" to be
part of the act.

As the music stopped and the lights
dimmed, an expectant hush overtook the crowd and
Serena walked to the microphone at the front of the
stage. After a few moments of silence, the stage
suddenly sprang to life as multi-colored lights
flashed in sync with the pounding disco beat that
started to play. A group of sexy back-up singers
danced out from behind a curtain, and Serena began to
sing:

"I'm a disco diva!
Got the dancin' fe-vah!
Gonna do the hustle!
And shake my pretty bustle! Everybody hit the floor.
Dance 'til you can't dance no more.
Swing and sway and trip the lights.
We're gonna have some fun tonight.
Serena's here to do her thing.
Feel the beat and dance and sing!"

The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause, and
everyone began dancing with wild abandon as Serena's
back-up vocalists chimed-in with the song's chorus:

"Dancefloor superstar!!!"

The crowd went crazy, cheering and whistling as Serena
joined in:

"I'm a disco diva!"

"Dancefloor superstar!!!"

"Got the dancin' fe-vah!"

"Dancefloor superstar!!!"

"Gonna do the hustle!"

"Dancefloor superstar!!!"

"And shake my pretty bustle!"

While Serena stood on stage shaking her derriere and
warbling her heart out, Samantha chased after Louise
who had dashed off to a deserted corner where she sat
crying her eyes out.

"Now, Louise, you mustn't let Larry see you cry,"
she
said gently as she patted Louise on the back. "He'll
just get upset and things will be worse than they ever
were."

Louise dabbed at her eyes, straightened her back, and
thrust out her chin with defiance.

"You're right, Samantha", she sniffled. "I'm
not going
to give Larry the satisfaction of thinking that I miss
him! If he wants me back, it's going to be on MY
terms, NOT his! 'I am woman, hear me roar'...the
cheating louse!"

"That's the spirit, Louise!" Samantha said
supportively. "And I'm positive he's not cheating on
you. Serena's probably just having a little fun...you
know how she is!"

"And I know how Larry is, too!" Louise replied
cynically. "The old skirt-chaser!"

"He might drool at the banquet, but I doubt he
partakes of the feast," Samantha said with a wry
smile. "Metaphorically speaking, of course." Louise
glanced at her knowingly, and then they both started
to laugh.

"He likes to pretend he's Casanova, but he's really
Ebeneezer Scrooge...in more ways than one!" Louise
giggled. "You know how old ad-men like Larry are:
everything's all talk, and there's not a lot of truth
in their advertising!"

"You're joking?" Samantha said with mock surprise,
and then the two old friends burst out laughing again.
Just then, Darrin came into view, walking towards them
with Larry in tow.

"Look who I found", Darrin stated cheerfully as
they
approached. "Good ol' Larry!"

"It's nice to see you, Samantha," Larry said politely
as he registered the chill coming from Louise.

"It's nice to see you, too, Larry," Samantha replied,
her eyes motioning towards Louise as she attempted to
direct Larry's attention to his wife.

"Hello, Louise", Larry muttered stiffly, his words
dipped in ice.

"That's Mary Louise Van Buren to you!", Louise
blurted
out angrily, and then she stomped off towards the
buffet table.

"Oh, my!", Samantha said nervously when she saw
the
wounded look on Larry's face. "I think Louise might be
the ~teensiest~ bit upset because she saw you dancing
with Serena. I'm sure she'll get over it, though...why
don't you go over and tell her that you're sorry?"

"I'll dance with anyone I want to!" Larry barked
indignantly. Samantha and Darrin both jumped, startled
by his outburst. "What does she think I am, some kind
of dog on a leash? Oh, to hell with her...I need a
drink!" Larry stalked off in the direction of the
nearest kickapoo joy-juice fountain, and Samantha and
Darrin glanced at each other worriedly.

"Well, so much for your plan to reunite Larry and
Louise," Darrin stated with controlled exasperation.
"Do you have any other bright ideas up your sleeve?"
Samantha furrowed her brow for a moment and then
announced:

Darrin crossed his arms and stared at Samantha,
resigned to what he knew was coming.

"It'll just be this once", Samantha explained.
"I can
either fix things with a little magic, or Louise and
Jonathan can live with us forever. It's up to you!"

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't be here wearing this
ridiculous outfit and none of this would be happening
in the first place!"

"I knew you'd see things my way", Samantha smiled
as
she leaned over and gave her husband a quick peck on
the cheek. "I'll have to get Serena to help me, but it
won't take long. Oh, look...there's Esmeralda! Why
don't you go over and chat with her while
I...uh...take care of things!"

"Terrific," Darrin grumbled to himself as he started
to walk towards Esmeralda. "There's nothing I'd rather
do more than chat with someone who fades away while my
wife plays magical marriage counselor with my boss!"

"Sweetheart", Samantha called after him. "Why
don't
you take Esmeralda out for a spin on the dance floor?
I'm sure she'd love it!"

"I refuse to dance with a floating pair of glasses,"
Darrin replied humorlessly as Samantha tried to
suppress a giggle.

Up on the stage, Serena was taking her bows as the
crowd applauded her performance. Samantha glanced
around to make sure Louise and Larry weren't looking,
and then she snapped her fingers and magically
appeared in the spotlight behind Serena.

"For my next number..." Serena announced. Samantha
tapped her cousin on the shoulder from behind, causing
Serena to shriek with alarm. "Say, what did you do
that for? You scared me!"

While the audience watched, Samantha leaned in and
whispered into Serena's ear, quickly explaining the
situation with Larry and Louise and reminding Serena
that the whole thing was her idea in the first place.

"...and that's why you've got to help me!"

"Oh, if you insist!", Serena replied with annoyance
as
she shot her cousin a withering glance. Turning her
attention back to her fans, she announced:
"Everyone...cool it! I'll be back!" Clicking their
fingers in unison, they both vanished from the stage
and instantly re-appeared back near the buffet table.

"Alright, let's get this ~dreary~ dating game over
with," Serena sighed poutily. "Who do I zap and what
do I zap them with?"

"I thought we could use the basic 'Lost Love' spell,"
Samantha suggested.

"The one with the drinks?"

"Yes. Now, you go over there where Larry's drowning
his sorrows by the fountain, and I'll handle Louise."

Samantha twitched her nose and a goblet of frothy
kickapoo joy-juice appeared in her hand as she set off
to look for her friend. Serena sauntered over to
Larry, pausing before she got too near so he wouldn't
see her. Quickly and with undisguised boredom, she
recited:

"Cottontop, your will is weak
Your wife's the one who's love you seek
So drink up all your magic brew
And dance right back to a girl named Lou!"

She snapped her fingers with a flourish and watched as
Larry started to guzzle the contents of his goblet.

Near the buffet, Samantha stopped and recited
carefully and with feeling:

"Louise, go dance with Larry Tate
Your heart is filled with love, not hate
The disco beat will work like magic
Now go and trip the light fantastic!"

A disco love song suddenly began to play, and Samantha
smiled with satisfaction as she walked over to her
friend.

"Here you go, Louise...drink up!"

Louise accepted the goblet and eagerly began to
swallow its contents. "Thank you, Samantha," she said
when she was through. "I was suddenly so thirsty and
I...I...I simply MUST go and dance with Larry!"
Putting her goblet down and pushing Samantha aside,
Louise dashed over to her husband. Larry's face lit up
with a warm smile when he saw her, and an overwhelming
sense of love and attraction sparked like fire between
them.

"Louise, my love!" he exclaimed, rushing towards
her
with open arms.

"Larry, my one and only!" Louise gushed as they
met
and held each other in a tight embrace.

"Dance with me, my angel!" Larry crooned softly
into
her ear. "Dance with me for the rest of my life!"

"I think I'm about to ~throw up~ with happiness!"
Serena trilled sarcastically, rolling her eyes with
disdain as Samantha sidled up next to her. "Mortal
love has never been my bag!"

"All's well that ends well," Samantha stated, a
look
of joy emanating from her face as she watched Louise
and Larry dancing cheek to cheek. Serena's attention
was on Darrin and Esmeralda who were standing on the
sidelines wordlessly observing the action and looking
entirely miserable about being there.

"Why are Super-Boob and Super-Prim standing there like
they're at a funeral?" Serena queried, her voice
tinged with displeasure.

"Cousin-in-law," Serena cooed frostily as she
approached. "If you and Maid-Mess-It-Up don't start
dancing, you might find your feet permanently ~welded~
to the floor!" With her hands on her hips, Serena
glared at Darrin and Esmeralda ominously, daring them
to defy her thinly-veiled command. Darrin glanced at
Esmeralda and an utterly sad look immediately spread
across her face.

"Oh, dear," Esmeralda groaned as she began to
fade-away. Sensing Serena's anger, Darrin instantly
reached out and grasped Esmeralda's hands before they
disappeared, and he began frenetically waltzing while
Serena looked on with satisfaction.

"Oh, Mr. Stephens!", Esmeralda exclaimed as she
began
to re-appear. "What a wonderful dancer you are!" She
pulled him closer and pressed her cheek next to his as
they quickly waltzed away.

"That's better!" Serena said, and then she snapped
herself back up on stage where she resumed singing her
song.

"I'm a disco diva!
Got the dancin' fe-vah...!"

"Phew! That was close!" Samantha thought to herself
as she smiled and turned to walk back to the buffet.
Not watching where she was going, she accidentally
bumped into someone and immediately turned to
apologize.

"Aunt Clara!" she exclaimed, delighted to see
her
favorite aunt. "And Hedley Partidge! What are you two
doing here? Isn't all this noise and clamor a little
too much for you?"

Aunt Clara and Hedley joined hands and smiled, their
adorable faces lighting up with child-like glee.

"We thought we'd have a trip around the dance floor,
for old time's sake," Hedley explained as he led Clara
towards the lights and the music and the crowd.

"Be careful!" Samantha called after them with
concern. "Don't forget: you're not three-hundred
anymore!"

"Don't worry, my dear," Aunt Clara replied with a twinkle. "I've still got a little 'hustle' left in my 'bustle'!"

Samantha smiled as Clara and Hedley started a fast
fox trot and Clara shook her hips in time with the
music.

"Oh, Aunt Clara...that's the nicest hustle I've seen
in anyone's bustle all night!" Giggling to herself,
Samantha watched happily as her loved ones circled the
dance floor, relieved and satisfied that everything
had once again returned to normal...or at least as
near to normal as a witch married to a mortal catering
a cotillion on a cloud could expect things to be!